Saturday, May 31, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Sy-led SM Investments Corp. will hold a road show next week for a forthcoming sale of P5 billion in fixed-rate bonds after securing the nod of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a statement on Friday, the holding company of mall magnate Henry Sy, Sr. said the domestic roadshow would be from June 1 to 3 in Manila, Davao and Cebu. Buyers need to pay a minimum of P20,000 per transaction. The bonds will be issued in two tranches, maturing in five and seven years. SM Investments has the option to increase the P5 billion bond offer by P5 billion more in case of strong demand.
The bonds are backed by a Triple-A credit rating by Philippine Rating Services Corp., the highest rating, which means they have minimal credit risk.
It would be the first time for SM Investments to sell the bonds to the public, having opted to borrow from large financial institutions before.
The firm earlier said it expects net proceeds of the sale, to be underwritten by Sy-owned BDO Capital & Investment Corp., to reach P9.89 billion.
SM Investments had said it would use the money to build new malls, develop the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay as well as the high-end resort Hamilo Coast in Batangas, and finance residential projects.
Capital spending would reach P25.8 billion this year, P13.3 billion of which would be allotted for real estate and tourism projects.
SM Investments was among three groups that qualified to participate in the project of state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to develop 85 hectares of reclaimed land from the Manila Bay into a gaming and leisure complex.
Shares in SM Investments closed 14% higher to P335 apiece on Friday. — Kristine Jane R. Liu
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